March 21, 2012

Tom Izzo watches as his team plays the Saint Louis Billikens during the third round in the 2012 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Nationwide Arena. Michigan State won the game 65-61. / Greg Bartram/US PRESSWIRE

EAST LANSING -- The worst mistake when trying to create something that will endure is confusing hope with a plan. In college sports, it's the difference between building a team and establishing a program.

The team hopes to win.

The program plans for it.

"The program is always bigger than the team," says the Gospel According to Tom Izzo.

He thinks it should even be bigger than the coach, although the denizens of Krzyzewskiville on Tobacco Road might disagree. But the reasons Michigan State once again is positioned for the Final Four delve much deeper than the versatility of a special senior.

It's about how Draymond Green grew into this role, following the path of those preceding him, embracing their encouragement and buying into the standards and expectations Izzo instilled 15 years ago.

"I always thought the key was staying paranoid," Izzo said. "You have to run your program every day like you think it might be your last. I know that I got away from that. I like to call it 'getting fat and sassy,' but it was about getting comfortable. You can't afford to let yourself get comfortable."

It's hard fathoming this now, but 15 years ago, Izzo thought he was a goner.

He had just suffered his third straight loss to Detroit Mercy, in 1997. At that point in the season, the Spartans were 4-3. They also had lost on the road to Illinois-Chicago and at home to No. 20 Temple.

"The criticisms started rolling in," said assistant coach Mike Garland, who has known Izzo since they were backcourt teammates at Northern Michigan. "People called into radio shows saying that they never should have hired an assistant coach. They needed to hire a name head coach."

Garland recalled the night Izzo hit rock bottom. Immediately after losing to the Titans, Garland and Izzo dejectedly sat in the tunnel at the Breslin Center. They cried. They were certain that the MSU administration would cede to the growing criticism and broom them out after just three years.

Both resolved at that very moment that, if they were destined for the door, they would go out relentlessly pushing for the physically and emotionally tough team they desired. The exact phraseology of The Plan can't be repeated in a family newspaper, but suffice to say it might make the hardiest Marine blush.

It resulted in long, grueling 5 a.m. practices, bringing a football mentality to basketball scrimmages. But as much as Izzo and his staff growled at their players, implementing a new toughness to Michigan State basketball wouldn't have worked if sophomore guard Mateen Cleaves and junior forward Antonio Smith -- good friends since running together as kids in Flint -- hadn't bought into it.

"If we had lost them," Garland said, "we would have lost everybody else, and everything would've fallen apart. But at least we would've walked away knowing that we did things how we felt they should've been done."

The tough love worked. The Spartans stunned all, winning a share of the 1998 Big Ten championship and beginning what has become the second-longest active streak of NCAA tournament appearances.

But more than that, it's the players who pass down the standard of commitment and discipline to their successors. It's the foundation that grows over time and seals the occasional cracks. It's why the better program is always better than the better team.

Contact Drew Sharp: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com .

Free Press beat writer Shawn Windsor will answer your questions about MSU basketball in a live chat at 2 p.m. Wednesday at freep.com/sports. Then come back Thursday night, as special writer Sean Merriman live-blogs the MSU-Louisville game. Support the Spartans on Facebook and Twitter with these Twibbons or this Facebook timeline photo.